Ballot questions mount as election draws closer

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

With an upcoming presidential election drawing intense interest and questions about advance, absentee and mail-in ballots filling the national news, the Floyd County Auditor’s Office is already fielding lots of questions about voting.

Many of the calls are about people receiving absentee ballot request forms in the mail and whether they are valid, said Floyd County Auditor Gloria Carr, who as part of her position is also county commissioner of elections.

Carr said people can expect to get absentee ballot request forms (ABRs) from political parties, special interest groups and candidate election committees.

She said her office has already received reports that people have received ABRs from The Center for Voter Information and the Republican Party of Iowa. The Iowa Secretary of State’s Office will also do a statewide mailing of the form before the end of August.

“All of these are legitimate ABRs and you’ll likely receive more in the mail before election day,” Carr said.

She said people can mail back any one of the forms to request an official ballot, but they should send back only one request.

“I understand the confusion it causes when voters receive multiple ABRs,” Carr said.

“In years past, our office has received as many as six ABRs for the same voter for one election – all ABRs were from different sources. Be assured that we are only sending one ballot to voters who mail multiple ABRs to us!” she said.

In-person voting is still an option, either before the election at the courthouse from Oct. 5 to Nov. 2, or at the polling places on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

“As with the primary election, measures will be in place to minimize the risk of COVID-19 spread for the general election.” Carr said.

Ballots will be available for domestic mail or in-person voting starting Oct. 5, which is 29 days before the election, Carr said. Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) ballots will be available Sept. 19, which is 45 days before the election.

Carr said her office had already received one call from someone saying Iowa needs “to get its act together” because other states already have ballots available and people are already voting for the November election.

She said that’s not possible, because the Democratic Party just officially picked its president and vice president candidates this week, and the Republican Party won’t do so until next week.

She said there may be some confusion because of news reports about recent primary elections, including in Minnesota last week.

Much of the controversy this election season is regarding the U.S. Postal Service and whether it will be able to delivery mail ballots in time for them to all be counted.

Carr said the Iowa Secretary of State’s office is in constant communication with the Postal Service at both the state and federal levels.

“I won’t say it never happens, but it’s extremely rare that our Hawkeye District has untimely issues with returning mailed ballots. This region is a nationwide leader within the Postal Service, known for their outstanding efficiency and service,” Carr said.

“We’re told the postal facilities in Iowa are not going to be short of sorting machines and they are fully prepared to manage the mailed absentee ballots that are expected for a record general election turnout,” she said.

Iowa law requires auditors to provide postage-paid return envelopes for mailed ballots.

“Voters who return their ballot by mail need to follow the instructions provided,” Carr said.

Ballots need to be deposited in a mailbox or taken to the post office so they are postmarked no later than Monday, Nov. 2, the day before the election, and they must be received in the auditor’s office by Monday, Nov. 9, to be counted.

Ballots can also be delivered in person to the county auditor’s office by the voter or his or her designee. They must be delivered to the auditor’s office by 9 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.

Carr said checking the status of a ballot voted in advance of election day is easy.

“Just call the auditor’s office or track your ballot through the Iowa Secretary of State’s website: sos.iowa.gov/elections/absenteeballotstatus/absentee/search. If you find your ballot isn’t received, call the auditor’s office,” she said.

“County auditors and poll workers take your right to vote seriously,” Carr said. “Our staff is always here to assist you with registering to vote, updating your voter information, processing in-person or absentee voting requests, lining up and training poll workers, testing equipment, ensuring safety at the courthouse and polling places, securing equipment and ballots, and wrapping up with an accurate results for canvassing.”

More information is available by contacting the Floyd County Auditor’s Office at (641) 257-6131 or auditor@floydcoia.org.

For persons who would still like to run for an office, there is a narrow exception where the filing deadline has not yet passed, Carr said.

During the last session of the Legislature, the filing deadline for county hospital trustee and township trustee positions was moved back to match the deadline for county agricultural extension council and soil and water conservation district commission.

Persons interested in those positions have until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26, to file papers in the county auditor’s office.

Convention certificates can be filed for county party ballot vacancies by the same deadline.